Piityvaich 12 yr old

This expression marks the 83rd distillery on my list: Pittyvaich. This is my initial review of a closed distillery, and I don't anticipate a revival for this one. Pittyvaich was a Speyside distillery owned by Diageo, and this 12-year-old is from the Flora and Fauna series. Bottled at 43% ABV, it's chill-filtered and contains added coloring, giving it a mahogany hue. Initially, the aroma is quite reserved, with faint minty sherry notes, some sweet cinnamon, a hint of clove, and raisins. After some time, the nose opens up considerably, revealing strong maple, coffee, and roasted malt characteristics. It presents a somewhat bourbon-like or perhaps Canadian profile, with notes of toffee, burnt sugar, and an unusual combination of brown sugar and bubblegum. Mixed nuts, red apple skin, and a subtle herbal note are also present, creating a complex but appealing aroma. The palate is indeed distinctive. My immediate impression was whether it was a scotch or a highly flavored Canadian whisky, as it strongly exhibits that characteristic Canadian profile. Flavors of butterscotch, caramel, and toffee are prominent, accompanied by cinnamon, coffee, and a robust nutty taste, featuring pecans and walnuts. Raisins and dates are also noticeable. It's rich, but not in an overly sweet manner. It has a light to medium-light body, feeling dry yet coating the palate. The finish is medium-short, featuring coffee/chocolate malt, caramel, butterscotch, and walnuts. My thoughts: It's certainly unique. I could easily mistake it for a sherry-matured Canadian whisky, which complicates scoring. The bottle's price was excessively high due to its closed distillery status. I'll disregard the cost when evaluating. I'll rate it a 3.5, but will elevate it to 3.75 for its rarity and highly distinctive profile. I'll round up to 4, as it feels closer to a 4 than a 3. Cheers.

I recently tasted a dram from the now-defunct Speyside distillery, Pittyvaich. This 12-year-old expression was part of Diageo's original Flora & Fauna collection. Pittyvaich, situated in Dufftown, was established in 1974 by Arthur Bell & Sons and primarily supplied whisky for blends, with only one official single bottling in 1991. It ceased operations in 1993, and its buildings were demolished in 2002, eliminating any possibility of a revival. A friend kindly provided this sample. I understand the bottle cost over $400. Visually, it presented as a lovely new penny copper in the Glencairn glass, though I suspect it is chill-filtered and has added coloring. It formed thin, viscous legs that left medium-sized droplets on the glass rim after swirling. The bottling strength was 43% ABV. The aroma offered subtle rye notes alongside pronounced molasses, toffee, and caramelized sugar. While there were suggestions of sherry cask influence, it leaned more towards an American rye profile than a Speyside scotch. The taste was quite buttery, dominated by flavors of Christmas cake and toasted nuts. Sweet sherry was present, along with a peppery rye quality. However, I found it lacked significant depth. The finish was short to medium, lingering with baking spices and pepper. It provided a pleasant warmth. Ultimately, it didn't align with my expectations but was still quite enjoyable and distinctive. I'm considering upgrading my rating to four stars due to its rarity, but primarily because it was rather delicious. Many thanks to the individual who shared this sample, as I likely would never have experienced it otherwise. Cheers.

Tasting on a Friday night, pulling from older bottles. Put on some Westworld and relax. Initially, the aroma is lightly sherried, reminding me of Dalmore. As it breathes, the sherry becomes stronger, bringing baking spices like nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon, along with currants. A gentle sweetness of brown sugar or real maple syrup, vanilla, Red Delicious apples, and milk chocolate blends perfectly with the spices. The fragrant mix just intensifies over time. The scents are so pleasant, I almost hesitate to taste it. The taste doesn't quite match the nose. The body is a bit thin, with a mild sweetness of toffee, vanilla, and a hint of honey. The sweetness lingers, then gives way to a cinnamon spice with nutty notes of almond and pecan. A subtle oak appears at the start of the finish. The oak dries the mouth, leaving faint traces of caramel sweetness and nuttiness. The nose is misleading because its richness doesn't carry over to the palate or finish. It has one of the best noses I've ever encountered. As a friend mentioned that the distillery is no longer operating, I feel fortunate to have experienced this nearly extinct scotch. Many thanks to a friend for providing this sample. [86/100][Tasted: 6/29/18]

This is one of my contributions for round 6 of our tour. Closed distilleries are always interesting. Part of me wonders if they closed due to subpar products, or was it poor strategy and management, which is amplified when popular tastes shift due to competition, a limited focus, or pricing. Today, merely decent malts like this have inflated price tags, while really good malts are ridiculously expensive. This one is just decent. Is it worth $450? No. (Thankfully I bought this years ago for much less). It's quite singular and one-dimensional in taste... lots of waxy honey. It's not bad, really an experience of having a closed distillery whose bottles are harder to find... but not at $450. (Also, I misspelled the title when requesting this... it should be Pittyvaich, not Piityvaich.)

I felt a strong sense of deja vu while trying the sample I received from a friend. It felt familiar, but I couldn't place it. The waxy, apple, rum-raisin aroma made me think of Clynelish, but that was incorrect. The palate, full of honey and tree fruit, seemed even more familiar. Looking at my collection, it clicked - Oban. This tastes like a younger sibling of Oban Distiller's Edition, with less sea character and poorer integration. It's always great to try something from a silent distillery, but it's a shame the whisky itself is more of a reminder of a better distillery than a revelation. Still, it's a pleasant, easy-to-like whisky... but not worth the collector's price.

On the nose, I detected nectarines, tea, tannin, sulfur, apricots, and peaches. The palate is fantastic with dark chocolate, raisins, figs, more sulfurous notes, and toffee. The finish is pleasant and long with more deep fudge notes, but slightly dry. I enjoyed it, but is it worth $400? I'm uncertain, perhaps more like 200+. Many thanks to a friend for the chance to even try this. The theme of this drink should involve cost, so I'm thinking "Moneytalks" by AC/DC. A solid 3.75!